HELL BENT TO LIVE

Glen stood outside the house with the rest of the family. All except dad. He saw him get in the old pickup truck and leave. He could see the dark clouds coming up. He was starting to worry. Where did daddy go mama? Never mind where daddy went, said mama. Billy and Glen, I want you to go and gather up all the cleanest buckets you can find, rinse them out and fill them with drinking water. Carry them into the kitchen and line them against the wall out of the way. Newt, you go to the hen house and gather whatever you can find. Be careful not to break or crack the eggs. Mama carried the baby back into the house and laid her on the bed, gave her a bottle of milk and hurried outside, going quickly into the cellar. She looked for what was drinkable and then she gathered some canned food.

Is dad coming back? She heard her son say behind her. She turned to him and said, "I think so. He said he was after he gets feed for the cows and chickens and he would be back as fast as he could. Did you boys get the water? Yes, we did. Then she turned to Glen and yelled for Billy to come to the cellar and help carry the food. They all climbed out of the cellar and headed back to the house. Boys, I want you to go outside and bring some kindling wood and then some bigger wood for the cook stove. When it looked as if they had done all they could to prepare for the huge black cloud that was coming, mama told the children to go sit down and she would try to rustle up a snack for everyone. Then they all went outside and just stared at what was coming toward them. Then they all turned and looked when they heard daddy's pickup coming up the drive. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief